Thursday, August 16, 2012

Addendum: How to Get ARCs

A little while back I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to get ARCs. Since that post, the website Edelweiss has become a new way to get e-ARCs!

Let's Do This!

What is Edelweiss:

Edelweiss is basically a giant collection of publisher catalogs that now also offers e-galleys on an individual approval basis (like NetGalley). Edelweiss offers publishing professionals, booksellers, librarians, reviewers, bloggers, etc. the ability to get interactive with the catalogs.

What does this mean exactly? I'm not really sure. I never used Edelweiss at my library and I haven't explored the site that thoroughly. I feel mostly lost when it comes to utilizing all of the interactive stuff, but I do like it for what I DO use it for, which is mostly for two things:

Browsing through publisher catalogs. This helps me add to my TBR and get an idea of what books are going to be published soon. It's so much easier to go straight to Edelweiss and browse through their publisher list rather than tracking down the catalogs on each individual publisher's website (which is what I used to do pre-Edelweiss)

Getting e-galleys. I haven't done this much yet, but it seems to me like it's very similar to NetGalley. So far I've requested four galleys and been approved for three. As with all of my experiences requesting review copies, I have NO CLUE why I get the responses I get. To add even more confusion, the publisher who approved me (HarperTeen) rarely approved my NetGalley requests, but the publisher who denied me (Random House) almost always approved my NetGalley requests. So, yeah, don't take it personally.

You need to provide the publisher with a profile of your blog. This is where you'd write things like your stats and reach. This is pretty similar to your bio in NetGalley or what you'd include in an email request.

You need to provide the publisher with a reason for why you're requesting. This is different from NetGalley, but you probably include something along these lines when you write an email request. You need to go beyond your stats and say why you're requesting this specific title and make a little case for why you should get it. I think. I'm not 100% clear on this part, but you need to write something for every book you request.

You do NOT get an email notifying you if you've been approved or denied. You need to give Edelweiss lots of page refresh hits by checking back periodically to see if you've been approved or not (go to the tab "Review Copies" then click on the subtab "Requests"). This is annoying and I wish they'd send you an email giving you a heads up. *Edited: It seems this may not be the case as most, though not all, other bloggers have received notification emails. Another puzzle!

It took between one and two weeks for my requests to be approved/denied, but I haven't requested enough to get a gauge on how long this process can take. *Edit: Based on blogger feedback, the time it takes seems to vary.

If you get approved for the book, you can go back to your "Requests" page and download the book. Click on the title and it will bring you to a page for the book. You'll see a button on the right side of the page that's green and says "Download Review Copy" Click that and download your book. I don't know what formats the e-galleys come in, but I've read them in Adobe Digital Editions, same as my NetGalley books.

E-galleys have EXPIRATION dates. If you go to your "Requests" page, you'll see a column for this and there will be a date listed next to the books you've been approved for. Download the book before this date or you won't get to read it. I'm not sure if that date is the last date to download or the last date to read.

Have you used Edelweiss?What has your experience been like?Do you have any advice to offer about using Edelweiss? Do you have any questions about using Edelweiss?

I've only used Edelweiss a few times. I don't like the interface; it's confusing to navigate. I prefer NetGalley but have noticed a pub or two leaving NG and going to Edelweiss. Not sure why but it's an interesting move.

Each time I've requested an ARC from Edelweiss, I have receive an email letting me know my request was approved. And I was notified within a week each time.

I too get emails telling me I have been approved on Edelweiss. Also, they do have an "auto-approve" function like NetGalley. I think they call it whitelisting. S&S whitelisted me so I was pretty excited about that. I also put in my profile (for both Edelweiss and NetGalley) that I may not always finish and review and egalley, but I always peruse them to see if they are a good fit to add to my library collection. (I am a middle school librarian). I was just getting so far behind I knew I wouldn't be reviewing everything anymore. I try to be selective about what I request but it still adds up!

Thank you for your feedback! I wonder if I had to sign up for them somewhere that I missed. It's nice to know they have that auto approve function. I do think I remember reading something about that, but alas I am not on any white lists there :)

I know HarperTeen isn't on NetGalley anymore but a couple of their books are available on Edelweiss which is why I went to check it out. I've only requested two books from Edelweiss - got approved for one and denied for the other - but I did get emails both times letting me know my status. For now, I prefer NetGalley just because it's less work to request a title from there and because I usually get approved.

Harper was my big draw to Edelweiss, too. I was sad when they left NG (not that they approved me much!) Thank you for the info about the emails. I agree, I prefer NetGalley because it's less work. It also feels a little less interactive, which is appealing for me as a shy person :)

I used to get emails for edelweiss but not so much anymore. And the time delay is killing me! Sometimes I've gotten a response in a day or two and then there are the ones I've been waiting on for almost 2 weeks. I really don't like the interface as it's kind of hard to search for older ones but if you check back every few days then it's pretty easy to stay on top of it. I'm very excited to see Netgalley's new design because that might make me fall even more in love!

I don't use Edelweiss because I don't read many e-galleys. It is the sole method I use to curb my review pile. I also don't like reading on the computer--and I'm not clear on this--do they let you read on your Kindle or whatever? Because I hate reading on the computer.

E-galleys are my arc weakness. I'm pretty good at curbing myself when it comes to requesting physical copies (probably because I have to leap over the hurdle of shyness, but also because I feel guilty if I don't like a book a publisher spent money to send me). But e-galleys are so non-confrontational and I feel no guilt at disliking them or not getting to them in time.

I'm pretty sure Edelweiss does let you read on your kindle. I *think* I remember seeing a kindle option, but since I read them on my computer I pretty much zeroed in on the option that was relevant to me and ignored the others :P

I prefer the Netgalley layout. I also prefer Netgalley because I find it pretty much impossible to get approved for anything on Edelweiss. A shame since publishers such as HarperTeen have left Netgalley for Edelweiss. I was on auto-approve for HarperTeen titles on Netgalley, but they're showing me no love on Edelweiss. *Crying* Also, I want S&S Galley Grab back because if that was still around I'd have the Evolution of Mara Dyer in my hands by now, but again, I was denied on Edelweiss. Argh!

I do get approval and rejection emails, though. Well, mostly rejection as you may have gathered, but I definitely get emails.

That is SO weird that Harper put you on their auto approve list at NG and then won't approve you at Edelweiss. What gives?! You're the same person! As mind-boggling as it is, the inconsistencies really do soften the blow of rejection though :P

I liked Galley Grab, too. It wasn't a perfect system, but it was so much fun getting that newsletter every month.

Thank you for the info about the emails. It seems like I'm totally in the minority here, so maybe the problem was on my end somehow.

Hey Small, I just started using Edelweiss and its been a grand adventure for me. I LOVE MG books and have requested and reviewed 2 MG (The Great Unexpected and A Dog Called Homeless) and 1 YA (Once). Somehow I was chosen for a feature review and wow, I've been getting emails like crazy now for pubisher pitches! Crazy for me and my little blog. I'm not sure what I did or didn't do but I started off with a bang with Edelweiss. I always get denied from Harper Collins on NG but I'm getting approved through Edelweiss so I'm not sure what the trigger is for approvals. Strange!

Wow, I haven't hear of Edelweiss until now. Sounds like a great way to get new books to review. I'll have to try it out and see if I like NetGalley or Edelweiss better. It's interesting how they ask specifically why you would like to read a certain title, as that probably takes some time to go through all of the responses they get. Thanks for sharing! I'll definitely have to check this out!

You know, I didn't think of that, but you're totally right. Can you imagine how time consuming it must be for the person who has to sift through all the explanations? Though, I guess they check people out on NetGalley too, so maybe the explanations make it a little easier because they don't have to research the requester's blog? Hmm...food for thought! Great point, TB!

Hi! I've tried Edelweiss, and I did get an email the first time I got accepted. (YAY!) The "pending" status takes soooo long though.I can't try NetGalley yet since I'm not 18 yet, so I guess I have to wait.This is such a nice guide, and thank you for the information! :)